Hockey Canada announced Team Canada West’s roster for the World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) today and 11 BCHL players made the final cut.
The lone returning BCHL player this year is Coquitlam Express forward Massimo Rizzo, who won a bronze medal at last year’s tournament. Also included on the roster is BCHL leading scorer and Trail Smoke Eaters forward Kent Johnson.
The full list of BCHL participants in this year’s tournament, which goes Dec. 7 to 15 in Dawson Creek, B.C., includes:
Defencemen
- Powell Connor – Trail Smoke Eaters
- Xavier Henry – Chilliwack Chiefs
Forwards
- Brendan Budy – Langley Rivermen
- Kent Johnson – Trail Smoke Eaters
- Kyler Kovich – Nanaimo Clippers
- Philippe Lapointe – Trail Smoke Eaters
- Luke Mylymok – Salmon Arm Silverbacks
- Owen Ozar – Trail Smoke Eaters
- Nick Poisson – Prince George Spruce Kings
- Massimo Rizzo – Coquitlam Express
- Ethan Scardina – Nanaimo Clippers
“After months of preparation and identifying players, it was great to gather in Calgary for a highly competitive camp and allow our players to compete for a spot on Team Canada West,” said Jamie McCaig, director of operations for Team Canada West. “We are excited to have our final roster selected, and our staff and players are excited for the opportunity to represent Canada and compete for a gold medal in Dawson Creek.”
Trail is the best-represented BCHL team with four players on the roster, while Nanaimo is next with two.
In total, Canada West’s 22-man roster is comprised of 11 BCHL players, including nine of the 13 forwards, nine from the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and two from the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL).
On top of the 11 players, the BCHL will be well-represented on Canada West’s off-ice staff, including head coach Joe Martin (Alberni Valley), assistant coach Brian Maloney (Chilliwack), equipment manager Scott Crema (Alberni Valley) and athletic therapist Brayden Tonogai (Langley).
Click here for the full roster.
Team Canada West’s competition at the WJAC includes Canada East, Czech Republic, Russia and the United States.
Canada West kicks off its tournament Dec. 7 against the United States.
All games will be broadcast on the Hockey Canada website.
TSN and RDS will broadcast the bronze and gold medal games on Dec. 15.
